About Van Belle Flowers

Van Belle Flowers is proud to be celebrating over 50 years of business in the Clarington and Durham Regions. Originating in Holland, over 4 generations of family have chosen the floral and plant business as their profession.

The tradition started in Holland in 1925 when the Segers family opened the first flower shop in Enschede, and love bloomed when William Van Belle met Martha Segers while he was wholesaling flowers to her parents. After William and Martha married, they also opened a floral boutique, and throughtout the coming years, their business grew, as did their family. The war was difficult on the young family and community, and they decided to immigrate to Canada in 1949.

After a few relocations, in 1958, they moved to the current 8 acre location just outside Bowmanville. One of William’s children, Harry, decided to continue the family tradition of being a florist and with his new wife, Ada, established Van Belle Flowers and Garden Centre.

As the family grew, so did Van Belle Flowers & Garden Centre. The small gardening shed soon became a larger building with greenhouses and a flower shop, with larger fridges, more offices, and additional work space. Satelite stores came and went throughout the ensuing years, and the Whitby location is still home to Van Belle Flowers, having occupied the historical building for over 30 years.

Belle Floral, a wholesale cut flower and plant company, was started in 1986 and services flower shops as far east to Kingston, north to Haliburton and the GTA. Specializing in quality fresh cut flowers, Carl ensures the integrity of the company by purchasing product from local growers in Southern Ontario as well as socially responsible companies in Ecuador and Colombia.

From Left: Jackie, Ruth, Karen, Carl and Martha

The years around 1996 marked an era of change for the Van Belle family and company. One of the founding members, Ada Van Belle, passed away unexpectantly, who was still a very active member of the daily operations of the stores. A few years later, Harry retired, passing the reins of the company to his children Carl and his wite Karen, Ruth, Martha and Jackie. Carl manages Belle Floral wholesale and purchases the flowers and plants from Ontario greenhouses and socially & environmentally companies abroad. Ruth works with both retail stores, managing the daily operations and brings her creative flair to all product lines and merchandising. Martha manages corporate, wedding and special events and all promotional aspects, while Jackie and Karen maintain the office and accounting aspects.

The subsequent years involved the renovation of the Courtice gift shop and the addition of 6 greenhouses. Also, expansion into different product lines, such as Christmas giftware and trees, jewelry, purses, gourmet food products have kept Van Belle Flowers an exciting business venture. Our floral company has been awarded “Favourite Florist” for the past 10 years in the Durham and Clarington regions, and FTD “Top 25 Florist” in Canada. The focus of our company has never diminished throughout the 50 years of existence…. Quality fresh cut flowers at reasonable prices with 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.

Van Belle Flowers and family has been blessed through the years with many successes and has been challenged with some difficult circumstances that we have overcome. With the dedication of wonderful staff, who feel like family to us, Van Belle Flowers continues to strive to be a better floral and gift business. We would like to say “Thank you” to our community and loyal customers, whom have shown us their dedication throughout the years. It is through God’s blessings that we are the company and family that we are today.

Quality and Awards

Van Belle Flowers and Garden Centre takes great pride in providing quality fresh cut flowers and plants to our customers for over 53 years. We have been awarded Durham and Clarington region’s “Favourite Florist” consecutively for over 10 years and “Top 25 Florist” in Canada by FTD.

We ensure that we support the local community and floral industry by actively participating in fundraising functions, such as the Harvest Ball, and supporting many local charities such as Hearth Place, Parkinson Society and more.. Being members of Society of American Florists, Flowers Canada, FTD and Teleflora have allowed our company to maintain the high level of excellence that we strive for. Supporting the “Pick Ontario” program shows that we purchase locally from Ontario greenhouses and growers. As well, we also purchase from environmentally & socially conscious companies abroad who entrust that their employees receive health & educational benefits while protecting the environment as well. Van Belle Flowers takes great pride in the quality of our products and service and have been given the best award – Our Customer’s Loyalty for over 53 years!